Telegram Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Telegram operations through Composio's Telegram toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

• Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)
• Active Telegram connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit telegram
• Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas
• Telegram Bot Token required (created via @BotFather)

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds
2. Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit telegram
3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to configure the Telegram bot
4. Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Send Messages

When to use: User wants to send text messages to a Telegram chat

Tool sequence:

1. TELEGRAM_GET_ME - Verify bot identity and connection [Prerequisite]
2. TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT - Get chat details and verify access [Optional]
3. TELEGRAM_SEND_MESSAGE - Send a text message [Required]

Key parameters:

• chat_id: Numeric chat ID or channel username (e.g., '@channelname')
• text: Message text content
• parse_mode: 'HTML' or 'MarkdownV2' for formatting
• disable_notification: Send silently without notification sound
• reply_to_message_id: Message ID to reply to

Pitfalls:

• Bot must be a member of the chat/group to send messages
• MarkdownV2 requires escaping special characters: _*[]()~>#+-=|{}.!
• HTML mode supports limited tags: <b>, <i>, <code>, <pre>, <a>
• Messages have a 4096 character limit; split longer content

2. Send Photos and Documents

When to use: User wants to share images or files in a Telegram chat

Tool sequence:

1. TELEGRAM_SEND_PHOTO - Send an image [Optional]
2. TELEGRAM_SEND_DOCUMENT - Send a file/document [Optional]

Key parameters:

• chat_id: Target chat ID
• photo: Photo URL or file_id (for SEND_PHOTO)
• document: Document URL or file_id (for SEND_DOCUMENT)
• caption: Optional caption for the media

Pitfalls:

• Photo captions have a 1024 character limit
• Document captions also have a 1024 character limit
• Files up to 50MB can be sent via bot API
• Photos are compressed by Telegram; use SEND_DOCUMENT for uncompressed images

3. Manage Chats

When to use: User wants to get chat information or manage chat settings

Tool sequence:

1. TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT - Get detailed chat information [Required]
2. TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_ADMINISTRATORS - List chat admins [Optional]
3. TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_MEMBERS_COUNT - Get member count [Optional]
4. TELEGRAM_EXPORT_CHAT_INVITE_LINK - Generate invite link [Optional]

Key parameters:

• chat_id: Target chat ID or username

Pitfalls:

• Bot must be an administrator to export invite links
• GET_CHAT returns different fields for private chats vs groups vs channels
• Member count may be approximate for very large groups
• Admin list does not include regular members

4. Edit and Delete Messages

When to use: User wants to modify or remove previously sent messages

Tool sequence:

1. TELEGRAM_EDIT_MESSAGE - Edit a sent message [Optional]
2. TELEGRAM_DELETE_MESSAGE - Delete a message [Optional]

Key parameters:

• chat_id: Chat where the message is located
• message_id: ID of the message to edit or delete
• text: New text content (for edit)

Pitfalls:

• Bots can only edit their own messages
• Messages can only be deleted within 48 hours of sending
• In groups, bots with delete permissions can delete any message
• Editing a message removes its 'edited' timestamp history

5. Forward Messages and Get Updates

When to use: User wants to forward messages or retrieve recent updates

Tool sequence:

1. TELEGRAM_FORWARD_MESSAGE - Forward a message to another chat [Optional]
2. TELEGRAM_GET_UPDATES - Get recent bot updates/messages [Optional]
3. TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_HISTORY - Get chat message history [Optional]

Key parameters:

• from_chat_id: Source chat for forwarding
• chat_id: Destination chat for forwarding
• message_id: Message to forward
• offset: Update offset for GET_UPDATES
• limit: Number of updates to retrieve

Pitfalls:

• Forwarded messages show the original sender attribution
• GET_UPDATES returns a limited window of recent updates
• Chat history access may be limited by bot permissions and chat type
• Use offset to avoid processing the same update twice

6. Manage Bot Commands

When to use: User wants to set or update bot command menu

Tool sequence:

1. TELEGRAM_SET_MY_COMMANDS - Set the bot's command list [Required]
2. TELEGRAM_ANSWER_CALLBACK_QUERY - Respond to inline button presses [Optional]

Key parameters:

• commands: Array of command objects with command and description
• callback_query_id: ID of the callback query to answer

Pitfalls:

• Commands must start with '/' and be lowercase
• Command descriptions have a 256 character limit
• Callback queries must be answered within 10 seconds or they expire
• Setting commands replaces the entire command list

Common Patterns

Chat ID Resolution

From username:

1. Use '@username' format as chat_id (for public channels/groups)
2. For private chats, numeric chat_id is required
3. Call GET_CHAT with username to retrieve numeric ID

From GET_UPDATES:

1. Call TELEGRAM_GET_UPDATES
2. Extract chat.id from message objects
3. Use numeric chat_id in subsequent calls

Message Formatting

• Use parse_mode: 'HTML' for <b>bold</b>, <i>italic</i>, <code>code</code>
• Use parse_mode: 'MarkdownV2' for *bold*, _italic_, `code`
• Escape special chars in MarkdownV2: _ * [ ] ( ) ~ > # + - = | { } . !
• Omit parse_mode for plain text without formatting

Known Pitfalls

Bot Permissions:

• Bots must be added to groups/channels to interact
• Admin permissions needed for: deleting messages, exporting invite links, managing members
• Bots cannot initiate conversations; users must start them first

Rate Limits:

• 30 messages per second to the same group
• 20 messages per minute to the same user in groups
• Bulk operations should implement delays between calls
• API returns 429 Too Many Requests when limits are hit

Chat Types:

• Private chat: One-on-one with the bot
• Group: Multi-user chat (bot must be added)
• Supergroup: Enhanced group with admin features
• Channel: Broadcast-only (bot must be admin to post)

Message Limits:

• Text messages: 4096 characters max
• Captions: 1024 characters max
• File uploads: 50MB max via bot API
• Inline keyboard buttons: 8 per row

Quick Reference

| Task | Tool Slug | Key Params | |------|-----------|------------| | Verify bot | TELEGRAM_GET_ME | (none) | | Send message | TELEGRAM_SEND_MESSAGE | chat_id, text, parse_mode | | Send photo | TELEGRAM_SEND_PHOTO | chat_id, photo, caption | | Send document | TELEGRAM_SEND_DOCUMENT | chat_id, document, caption | | Edit message | TELEGRAM_EDIT_MESSAGE | chat_id, message_id, text | | Delete message | TELEGRAM_DELETE_MESSAGE | chat_id, message_id | | Forward message | TELEGRAM_FORWARD_MESSAGE | chat_id, from_chat_id, message_id | | Get chat info | TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT | chat_id | | Get chat admins | TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_ADMINISTRATORS | chat_id | | Get member count | TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_MEMBERS_COUNT | chat_id | | Export invite link | TELEGRAM_EXPORT_CHAT_INVITE_LINK | chat_id | | Get updates | TELEGRAM_GET_UPDATES | offset, limit | | Get chat history | TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_HISTORY | chat_id | | Set bot commands | TELEGRAM_SET_MY_COMMANDS | commands | | Answer callback | TELEGRAM_ANSWER_CALLBACK_QUERY | callback_query_id |